200 Word Review: Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The good: This book is terrifying. Possibly, you’re into that? There are strong female characters. It’s kind of subversive in terms of our expectations of what a victim should look and act like. And there’s a toughness, a survival-at-all-costs thing that the female characters have, that’s rarely depicted in a book this popular. And obviously, it’s a very exciting thriller. I only took breaks to cry-from-terror a little bit!

The bad: Everyone in this book is either foolish or Crazy. Boy was I unprepared for a super-violent rape scene! Rape. More rape. Rapey rape. And then sex, which by that point, will also seem rapey. Lisbeth Salander is totally unlikeable. And did I mention Crazy? But she is a survivor, and actually, she earns your respect.

Which is exactly how I felt about the book itself. I will not, however, be back for seconds, because I like my dreams un-haunted. Seriously, I haven’t felt so heart-sick since that time I got sucked into the CrimeLibrary.com serial killer archives. DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE.